First Time For Everything
by Tohdoh
Summary: [post-AoU, pre-IW] Vision has a lot to learn. Wanda sets out to teach him everything that life has to offer. Along the way, she ends up learning a thing or two herself. [Series of Scarletvision oneshots]
1. First Day of Training

**First Time For Everything (1)**

**First Day of Training**

Wanda was amazed that she could keep standing still and quietly among her new teammates, eyes and ears trained on her new superior, without her legs giving out underneath her and sprawling facefirst onto the floor. Her head spun, and she hadn't even started training yet. So much had happened so quickly. Uprooted from her homeland, losing her remaining family, her twin brother, switching allegiances from the quest for revenge and annihilation to saving the world, placed into a foreign country and joining a new team…it was all so overwhelming. How her head had not burst open yet was beyond her.

"You got that, Wanda?"

"What?" She snapped out of her reverie, and noticed with embarrassment that Vision, Rhodey, and Sam no longer looked up at Steve and Natasha, but at her. The captain had just asked if she understood everything that must have been meant for her in particular. Lost in the raging turmoil of her thoughts, Wanda hadn't gotten any of it.

"Er, sorry." Her cheeks warmed. "Could you repeat that, please?"

"Sure." Instead of berating Wanda, Steve regarded her with brief empathy before going on, "I was saying that of all the New Avengers, and unlike the other three here, you have abilities that aren't based on technology, machines, or science. Agent Romanoff and I have a different training approach for you in mind—no pun intended." He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. As he continued to address her, discomfort flickered across the authoritative confidence usually worn on his face. "We think it's best if you begin training in isolation, Wanda. When we can get a better assessment of the scope and limits of your abilities, we'll feel more comfortable about having you work in a team."

Wanda understood his discomfort. She had been a threat, a force to be reckoned with, when she sided with Ultron. She had almost singlehandedly compromised the entire team with her illusions and mind-tampering tricks in South Africa. Now she would rather not pose any more danger to her new teammates.

"I'm okay with training alone," she told everyone. "Accidents might happen, and I don't want to hurt anybody."

"With all due respect, Captain Rogers," Vision said, "Miss Maximoff and I are both powered by the stone that sits in my head now. Furthermore, unlike Colonel Rhodes and Mister Wilson, I lack formal combat training and am quite new to all of this. Miss Maximoff and I are not so different. Given our similarities, I don't see any harm in having me train alongside her." His bright blue gaze flickered at Wanda, then back to Steve. "In the event of any mishap, I have the build and power to withstand it."

In that brief exchange of glances, Wanda felt a swell of appreciation for him. At first she accepted Steve's preposition and understood his intentions, but now that Vision spoke up, she agreed that he would make an ideal training partner. With him, she wouldn't feel so alone in this new team and new home.

"Vision, Wanda, are you two okay with training together?" Natasha asked.

At the same time, they replied, "I am."

Steve inclined his head at them. "All right, slight change in plan. I'm glad we have this worked out."

The team split up to proceed with the first day of training, with Steve taking Rhodey and Sam outside to discuss flight tactics, while Natasha remained inside the facility with Wanda and Vision.

"I know there's been a lot on your mind lately," Natasha said to the newest female Avenger. "You did really well back in Sokovia, for someone who switched sides on a whim, but today we'll take it slow and start from ground zero." She put her hand on Wanda's shoulder and her voice softened. "Of course we want you to take this seriously and do your best, but don't ever feel like you have to push yourself too hard, okay? This isn't HYDRA."

Assured by that, and nearly sagging with relief, Wanda nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

Back when she and Pietro had gained their powers under HYDRA, they toiled like dogs. They had to follow orders without objection, and exert themselves without proper rest to the point of collapsing. Sometimes Wanda and Pietro were pitted against each other, like gladiators in a Roman arena. His enhanced speed and reflexes couldn't stand up against her more potent powers. Guilt always wracked her when she was forced to stop him in his tracks and fling him around. Despite the bruises, sprains, and even fractures, Pietro had never blamed her for that. Steve and Natasha certainly didn't seem like people who would make her endure the same kind of hell. Wanda would follow them gladly.

Vision's polite inquiry pulled her from that dark place. "What do you have in mind for us today, Agent Romanoff?"

Natasha cracked a smirk. "Nothing cerebral for now. We'll cover self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Get ready to rumble, you two."

The seasoned spy and martial artist taught with a deft hand, going over practical maneuvers that left Wanda sore, sweating, and smarting. Fighting temptation to fall back on her powers, she was no match against Natasha's experience. Cutting short the flurry of fists and feet with a flick of her hand would have been so easy. But Wanda had to be ready for the event that her powers might be compromised in any way. She didn't want to be a useless, sitting duck without them.

Vision underwent the same treatment, though appeared much less bruised and ruffled than Wanda did. Could an android even get bruises? No blood coursed under his synthetic flesh, so most likely not. Like her, he refrained from using his abilities by not altering his density. Against Natasha's fighting demonstrations, he appeared to weigh as much as an average man. Otherwise, she would have cracked her back from trying to grapple with him.

Wanda came away from that first day of training with her head still spinning, this time from Natasha repeatedly submitting her to the floor and all the self-defense techniques she had learned. Steve, Natasha, and the New Avengers convened again for closing remarks and what to expect for the next few days of training. After that, everyone split up to enjoy the rest of their day. Well, almost everyone. Wanda thought about hitting up her room for a nice, cool shower, then her bed for a long nap, but as she crossed the facility floor after filling up a bottle with cold water, she noticed Vision not budging from the facility floor.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm functioning just fine, Miss Maximoff," he replied. "I'm at a loss on what to do next."

Wanda found his standing around and wandering gaze oddly endearing. She could relate to his awkward position. She was new to this group of people and this country. He was new to…well, everything. After the first day of training had finished, only she and Vision remained in the training facility. Sam had already left for the weekly meeting with his veteran support group. Rhodey went out to grab a few drinks with Tony. Steve and Natasha had to discuss confidential SHIELD affairs with Fury, and inform him on how the New Avengers were faring.

"Let's find something to do," Wanda suggested.

"How can we do that? Training for the day is done, and we are not yet ready for any missions."

For the first time since Pietro had died, amusement tugged at her chest and made her heart lift a bit, if not smile. "Life is so much more than training and missions, Vision. Life can be fun."

"I know the accepted dictionary definition of 'fun,' but have not experienced what it's like to have it." Being an android only days old, he regarded her with a curiosity that somehow appeared both scholarly and childlike. "I was created to possess a wide breadth of knowledge. I know about many things, but have yet to experience them. Knowledge and experience are not the same, just as explicit memory and episodic memory are two different kinds of memories."

Wanda blinked. "Explicit memory? Episodic memory?" Growing up on the streets after her parents died, and not making past primary school, she couldn't help feeling somewhat stupid in front of Vision.

Vision lowered his gaze to the floor before bringing it back up to her. "Forgive me, Miss Maximoff. I shouldn't have assumed that you'd know. Not all memories are made alike. According to the current understanding of human thought, your brain sorts memory into various categories. Explicit memory deal with strictly facts and concepts, while episodic memory consists of lived experiences." Vision gestured to the windows and the lot outside. "I am a database filled with explicit memory, more or less. I know everything about New York, from its demographics, economy, history, and even weather forecast for the next week, but I do not know what it's like to be a New Yorker."

"Not yet, anyway. You'll find out soon, and so will I. Until now, I've never been to America." Then she admitted, "I'm more nervous than anything about being here, but I would feel better if you want to explore our new home with me."

His reply was cordial. "I would like that very much, Miss Maximoff."

"Please, just call me Wanda." She knew it was in his nature, or rather programming, to be polite, but he didn't have to be so formal with her.

Vision nodded. "If you insist. Well, Wanda, I am very keen on learning about the many ways that people can have fun."

She hadn't yet recovered from the whirlwind of these past few days to smile back, but she looked forward to the little adventures that lay in store for them. "There's a lot to do and see, but we'll take it like with training. Take it one day at a time. Maybe we can get you a hobby or two while we're at it." In an attempt to speak his language, she added, "Let's go get you those episodic memories."

* * *

**This is more of a prologue chapter. The next ones will be more humorous and fluffy in tone, I promise. I have a few chapters planned, though feel free to give me prompts and suggestions.**


	2. First Rain

**First Time For Everything (2)**

**First Rain**

As an Avenger in-training, Wanda didn't have a salary yet. In the mean time, she needed money. Sure, Tony already proved to be quite generous in providing a roof over her head, and a more than adequate place to eat, sleep, and train, but he couldn't be expected to pay for her clothes and food when he didn't know her tastes, and likely didn't have the time or effort to know.

"You need money, too," Wanda told Vision. "It would be a good idea for you to build up a wardrobe of casual clothes, so you don't have to always walk around in…that." She gestured to the green suit and flashy yellow cape hanging behind him.

Vision glanced down at himself with concern. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

"No, not at all," Wanda quickly assured him. "You look rather heroic. It's just that we don't need to look heroic all the time. There's…um, you know, times we need hero mode on, and times we need hero mode off." And times like this made her painfully aware that she spoke English as a second language. Again, it embarrassed her that she lacked the more articulate, wider breadth of vocabulary Vision possessed.

At her last remark, however, he smiled at her. "More casual clothes for hero mode off. Optimal social conditions entail not standing out inappropriately. I understand."

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Wanda wanted to kick herself. She had a habit of gesturing with jerks and waves of her hands when she got nervous or words failed her. She wondered why Vision was still interested in being around her at all. "I want to take you shopping so you can find clothes that you'd like. I need to get new clothes, too."

This time she would get them honestly. Money was hard to come by for a pair of penniless, homeless Sokovian twins, so Pietro used to swipe the odd trinket, shawl, and dress here and there for her. That wouldn't fly in New York. Not when she had a good reputation to establish as a new Avenger.

'Just ask Stark politely for some sort of allowance,' she thought. 'How hard can that be?'

But when Wanda chalked up the courage to ask, Tony flatly said, "No way. The idea of letting a kid and an android run around with credit cards doesn't sit well with me."

Wanda bit back a groan. "We're not going to 'run around.' We'll be responsible."

"Vision I can be okay with, but you? You've probably never used a credit card in your life."

Stung by the truth, Wanda tried very hard not to cross her arms. "I can always learn."

By the time Tony gave in about giving her and Vision debit cards, rain announced its arrival with a crescendo of taps from above. "Welp," he said with a gesture to the window. "no shopping spree today, kid. I need time to set up the bank accounts, anyway."

Of course it was raining when she had planned to head out. Not only raining, but pouring. How did that English idiom go? Raining cats and dogs? Well, right now, to her it looked like it was raining whales and sharks. Born and raised all her life in a landlocked country, Wanda had never seen the sea, let alone seen a real whale or shark, but when she was a child, they looked big, scary and blue in picture books. The droplets outside provoked the same feeling she had when she read those picture books. The rain hammered down with no signs of letting up anytime soon. She curled up on a couch in the living room, disappointed that she and Vision couldn't go out today, but relieved that she remained warm and dry inside. She didn't have the same luxury in Sokovia.

Vision stood nearby. The window behind the couch she slouched in gave a generous view of the downpour outside. It rained so hard that she could barely make out New York City's skyline in the haze. Vision glanced between the window and Wanda. "You don't like the rain?" he asked.

"Not really," she mumbled.

"I thought that we would go shopping for clothes today."

"Not in this terrible weather."

"Terrible?" Vision glanced out the window once more. "Terrible is subjective, but at least according to my assessment, it's not dangerous. I'm built to be waterproof, and you can carry an umbrella."

She thought of the rain still getting into her socks and shoes, and she shook her head. "Sorry, Vision, I'll pass. I'd rather go shopping next time."

"Why do you dislike the rain, Wanda?"

She sighed. He was merely curious, but she was reluctant to elaborate. "In Sokovia, you wouldn't want to get caught in the rain. You really wouldn't want to get caught in it when you get sick easily and didn't have the proper clothes to keep warm, like me." Rain was merely an annoyance and inconvenience for most people, but for the ones living in poverty, rain could be lethal. Despite wearing a long-sleeved top inside, she shivered. "I almost died from pneumonia once. Pietro must have run all around and all over Sokovia to snag a bottle of antibiotics for me. It's a miracle that I survived at all."

Vision sat on the end of the couch by her feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up unpleasant memories."

"It's okay," she murmured. "You wouldn't have known unless I told you, right?"

He nodded. "Rain, as I understand it, is a natural process that benefits the ecosystem, refills lakes and rivers, and nourishes the plants. Rain sustains life. Too much of it can be destructive, but without it, the world would be a parched desert."

He was right, of course. Leave it to Vision to look at any facet of life from another perspective.

"You know what the rain's also good for?" Wanda let loose a wide yawn. "For napping."

Amusement flickered across his face. "Is that so? I can't sleep, so I'm afraid I'll have to miss out on that experience."

Wanda drifted off to the rain that had become a tapping, hollow lullaby. With Vision, she would think twice before grumbling about the rain from now on.

* * *

He ought to give Wanda a blanket while she slept. She must have forgotten it in her room, or figured she didn't need it. Regardless, Vision felt that the blanket was needed to complete the image of sleeping comfortably. He got up to retrieve a blanket from her room, which she had left open, and draped it over her still, prone form on the couch. Wanda stirred without opening her eyes, tucking her feet and hands into the blanket.

Vision continued to watch the rain and listen to its rhythm. He began to understand why it lulled Wanda to sleep. From a safe and dry place, the rain proved to have a very relaxing effect. If he sharpened his visual acuity, he could make out every drop of rain, and follow every downward path those drops took from the sky to wherever they met their end with a splash. Vision extended a hand, phased it through the glass window, and let the rain fall on his open palm before drawing it back inside. Holding up his hand close to his face, he watched droplets run into rivulets down his fingers and along the etchings of his palm. Clear rain against his red skin looked like blood. Was this how blood coursed through a living human being?

Unable to sleep, and fascinated with the change in weather, Vision could stare at the rain for hours. Wanda stirred in the couch again, breaking the wistful gaze Vision had held on the window. She sat up and stretched her arms.

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked her.

"Sure did." Wanda blinked the sleep out of her eyes and glanced at the window. "Oh, the rain's letting up."

The intense deluge gradually softened into a shower.

"Would the current conditions suffice for a stroll outside?" Vision asked.

"Hmm, I'd say so. You want to go on a walk?"

He nodded. He would like to see how much greener the plants have become, and see how the rain had drawn out various critters poking up from the damp earth.

Wanda pulled away the blanket. "I'll come with you."

That took him aback. "Oh, you don't have to. I understand that you would be more comfortable with staying inside—"

"It's all right. I've been inside long enough, anyway, and I'm in a better mood to handle a bit of rain." She pulled on a pair of rain boots before accompanying Vision outside the New Avengers facility.

* * *

Wanda tread with care on the rain-stained concrete and soaked dirt trails. It amused her to watch how Vision often stopped with every few steps to bend down and get a better look at whatever caught his eye. Leaves and flowers, now adorned with rain droplets, had him enraptured. He would reach out with a finger, and poke the plant to watch the drops fall and run down in response.

Earthworms, slugs, and even a frog or two peeped out from the soil. Some had strayed onto the trails, in danger of being stepped on by careless strollers. Vision plucked out a twig and used it to gently usher or pick them up to put them back into the grass. Those things used to creep out Wanda, no thanks to her cheeky brother. He used to drop them into her hair, to make her jump and scream. She'd chase after him, and he would outrun her as always.

"You're not going to put those in my hair, are you, Vision?" she asked, partly as a joke and partly out of genuine fear that he just might.

The joking part seemed to have soared over his Mind Stone-encrusted head as he replied sincerely, "The thought never crossed my mind." An earthworm he attempted to save twined itself around the twig he held. "I don't see any gain or reason in putting this little fellow into your hair."

Wanda bit back a laugh. "I don't, either." Snapping off her own twig to hold, she found herself mimicking his small, noble attempts to save the slimy, wriggling creatures from being flattened. While trying to nudge a fat green frog out of the trail, Wanda uttered a strangled scream when it jumped right onto her hand instead.

"Don't be afraid, Wanda. It's only a frog. It won't hurt you."

Vision's soft, assuring tone soothed her nerves. It took everything not to fling the frog far away from her. Vision held her hand steady between his, guiding her to a patch of tall grass where she could safely deposit the frog. Once it hopped off her hand, she rubbed her palm furiously against her skirt, and her ears grew hot.

"S-sorry for freaking out," she sputtered. God, could she go for just one day without looking like an idiot in front of Vision? Was it really that hard for her? Despite herself, she chuckled and a lump grew in her throat. "Stupid Pietro, this is all your fault…"

Vision stared down at her with a confused tilt of his head. "How can you sound mad, cry, and smile all at once? I don't understand."

Wanda wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "My brother used to scare me by putting worms and slugs in my hair when we were little, and I used to kind of hate him for that. But now…" More tears welled up, and like rain, they fell. "Now I can look back at that as a way to remember him."

* * *

The mix of emotions she displayed intrigued and still puzzled Vision. He had much to learn about the complexity of human emotions. He wondered if he would ever get to figure out the intricacies of that mystery with this young woman next to him. He also wondered if he ought to say something to console her. Certainly it wasn't his intent, but he made her cry. Perhaps an apology on his part was also in order.

Then Wanda said, "I'm glad I went out for a walk with you after the rain. This feels a lot better than a nap."

That surprised, baffled, and relieved him all at once. "Does it now? I'm glad." For a flashing moment, there it was, what he sought to understand: that confusing conflict of emotions.

"I forgot to mention another thing I really like about the rain." Wanda closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "The smell."

Vision also closed his eyes and breathed in. Rain itself had no scent, but once it met the ground, and the oil from certain plants, and bacteria fermenting the soil, everything came together in a series of biochemical reactions to produce a refreshing, damp earth fragrance, one borne from the first rain after a dry spell. Setting aside prior knowledge of petrichor formation, Vision briefly abandoned himself to just feel what Wanda felt at the moment. Life went on, and simply put, this was what it smelled like. He let out a content sigh, and said, "I like it, too."


	3. First Shopping Spree

**First Time For Everything (3)**

**First Shopping Spree**

Tony laid down firm, detailed instructions to Wanda and Vision on how to use debit cards properly. "Don't go wild with them, don't let the balance go down below zero," he warned. "Once I see that you can manage money responsibly, you can upgrade to credit cards."

Vision carefully tucked his new debit card into a spare wallet (also courtesy of the genius billionaire). "We will not let you down, Mr. Stark." The solemn way he said that made it seem like he was tasked with an important Avengers mission.

Wanda decided to keep her gratitude straightforward and simple. "Thank you."

Tony went around her to his sleek convertible and patted her arm as he passed by. "Don't go buying out a Hot Topic on me now."

Wanda stared after him, perplexed. "What's a Hot Topic?"

Vision's expression and tone mirrored hers. "I haven't the slightest idea."

She shouldered her new purse, which actually used to be Pepper's. "Okay, let's go shopping."

With no car and no driver's license, the pair took a train on the way. Wanda was nervous about heading into such a large, bustling metropolis like New York City. Up until recently, she had only seen it from a TV or heard about it on the radio. It had seemed distant and unreal, like a castle from a fairy tale. Now, thrust into the heart of the famous city in person, Wanda faced an overwhelming swirl of people, cars, and advertisements flashing on gigantic screens. The largest city in Sokovia was a rural village compared to this. Her heartbeat quickened and her palms became sweaty.

She found herself gripping Vision's hand. "I don't want to get lost in all of this."

He gave her hand a gentle, assuring squeeze. "Don't worry, you won't. I will make sure of that."

Even if Wanda had broken her hold on him amid the crowd, she would still be able to find him without a problem. He stuck out like a sore, red thumb. His unusual, colorful appearance drew curious sidelong stares from pedestrians, and Wanda can't help overhearing some of the whispered comments.

"Who's that? Someone famous?"

"I don't know. Looks like a cosplayer."

"Is there some kind of con going on right now?"

"Maybe he's dressing up as an original character."

"Cool makeup. Must've taken forever to put on."

Vision must have heard them better than she could, but he didn't acknowledge any of the comments. At least none of them sounded mean. He seemed comfortable in his own synthetic skin, while Wanda prickled with tension and feared that someone would recognize her from footage of the battle in Sokovia. Fortunately no one spared her a second glance. So much had been going on during that battle, and Novi Grad was a falling wreck that could have prevented news stations from grabbing decent aerial footage of the Avengers. She still had some ways to go, but Wanda wanted to start off on the right foot and make a proper debut as a new member of the team. She owed everyone that much.

"Relax, Wanda. You'll be all right."

She looked up and met a sea of blue calm in his eyes. That lifted some of the pressure off her shoulders. She shook her head. "Sorry…it's all the noise and all these people getting to me. It's making me a little anxious."

"My internal GPS is leading us to the nearest mall, but I can reprogram it to locate stores that aren't so occupied. Perhaps those spaces will help you unwind."

Wanda nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." She had proposed to go shopping in the first place, but was so overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the city that she didn't know where to start. Good thing that Vision came in with a sensible plan.

"I'm interested in finding you some clothes first," she said. "Have you developed a taste for anything yet?"

"I perused through a few catalogs online. A couple of articles caught my interest. I would like your second opinion to determine if they'll fit."

Wanda waved her hand. "Oh, I don't know if I'm the best person to ask." She and Vision walked by the store called Hot Topic, and she saw what Tony meant by "buying out the whole store". She flushed with indignant embarrassment, thinking of her own haphazard, rugged selection of dark clothes. She decided that she had to grow up and lighten up her wardrobe, so she wouldn't look so much like an edgy teenage punk straight off the streets (which she had been for a sizeable part of her life).

"I would still value your opinion, Wanda," Vision insisted. He pointed ahead of them. "That looks like a good place."

He meant the store lined with men's formal wear. When Wanda stepped inside with him, the combination of soft jazz playing overhead and the faintest whiff of cologne soothed her. Not many customers browsed the store's premises. Then again, not many could afford this kind of aesthetic.

"Good choice," she agreed, for two reasons: she could take a break from the crowd here, and Vision, being the gentleman, would fit well in the clothes of one. She simply couldn't see him sporting the skin-tight shirts and jeans on chiseled models for stores like Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch. The thought almost made her snort out loud.

Vision was pleased to find a few clothes he had found in the online catalogs. "Finding agreeable colors is the goal, yes? What colors do you think would suit me, Wanda?"

She frowned. "Well, you can probably tell already that I like red a lot…but you're already pretty red. Red on red would be too much." Though she scanned over the store's stock of clothes, she thought of the calm blue in his eyes. "Blue would look good on you. Navy blue."

"Duly noted." Vision unhooked a dark blue cashmere sweater from the tallest rack (it just hit Wanda how very tall he was, that he could reach for the rack two whole armlengths above her). "What do you think of this?"

Wanda nodded. "I like it, but we won't know for sure until you try it on."

An employee directed them to the fitting rooms at the back of the store. Wanda sat on the bench patiently waiting for Vision to try on and present the clothes he had picked. When he emerged with the dark blue sweater and complementary trousers, she gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"That looks really good on you," she said. He looked dashing in those clothes, she realized. And as if her face couldn't get any hotter, right in front of her, Vision phased out of the sweater and trousers. Her hands flew over her eyes.

Her small cry of surprise made him look up from clamping hangers over the clothes. "Wanda, what's wrong?"

"Y-You're naked." The worst part wasn't even that, really. She had seen him without clothes before, during his "birth." In fact, the worst part was that right before she covered her eyes, the damn things went straight down to his genitals. Or where his genitals would be, if he was a regular man. That was a lot more than she had to know about Vision in a day. Wanda shot a glance outside the fitting room and said with panic, "Hurry, change into your green suit, before someone sees you." She sighed with relief when he complied.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "Did I frighten you?"

"N-No…you surprised me, that's all. People can't, um, walk around in public naked. You could get in trouble for that."

"But we are not in a public space. It's just you and me in here." Vision was only curious and confused, not the slightest bit creepy and predatory, and that only proved to Wanda once again just how new he was to all of this. This crazy, confusing world they lived in.

Wanda found this part harder to explain. "Um, well, it's true that there's not a lot of people around, but we have this rule in society that being naked around someone of the opposite sex is, um, indecent. In most situations, anyway, unless those people are really comfortable around each other, like in a marriage or something…" She trailed off and wanted to slap a palm at her forehead. She was terrible at explaining things.

"Indecent to show certain areas, you mean? Such as genitalia?"

"Er, yeah…"

"But I do not have genitals."

"Yeah, I know, I saw," she almost squeaked out, but thankfully kept down. Wanda didn't think this conversation could get any more awkward, but each passing second proved her wrong.

Vision's confusion persisted. "I lack what men should keep covered, so I don't see why I have to follow rules that don't apply to a synthetic being such as myself."

She hated how her face was still warm, and probably as red as Vision's. "That's just how it is," she replied lamely. "Rules are rules. It wouldn't be proper for _me_ to not wear any clothes in front of you, for example."

Vision knitted his brow. "I must admit that I don't quite follow your logic. I still have a lot to learn about humanity's view of nudity, but what I know for certain is that I don't want to make you uncomfortable. On with the next set of clothes, then?"

Vision tried on more of his selections without further incident, this time changing in and out of clothes behind the door so Wanda wouldn't have to see him naked again. It amazed her how quickly he picked up a good taste in clothes. Each time he came out for her opinion of the clothes on him, she would nod and give him two thumbs up. Given the initial moderate amount on his debit card, Vision decided to narrow down what he had tried and buy just two sets of clothes from the store. Both were dark blue tops that Wanda had liked the most.

"Your turn to shop," he told her, and she gave him an amused glance.

"I hope you're very patient, Vision, because girls take much longer than guys with trying on clothes." Then she added, "I'm just kidding. I'll try to be quick. Maybe you can help me out, and that'll make shopping go quicker."

"I would be happy to help," he replied.

* * *

Wanda had doubts about being the person to ask about clothes, but Vision liked everything she tried on. His verdict of the blouses and skirts she changed into was either "charming" or "beautiful," and finally, after the sixth change of clothes, Wanda cracked a smile for the first time that day.

"Really, Vision, nothing bad on me at all? You can be honest with me."

"I _am_ being honest," he assured her. "You cannot go wrong with any set of clothes you had picked."

She rested both hands on her hips. "I just think that there's nothing in your circuitry to make you capable of saying anything bad."

Vision chuckled. "I can be discerning enough to give out more than just polite compliments. You underestimate your own sense of good taste, Wanda."

"Okay, I challenge you to say anything good about _this_." Wanda deliberately went for the worst mismatch of colors and the tackiest trends she could possibly imagine. She squeezed into short shorts that felt more like denim underwear, a glittery tank, tattered pantyhose, and neon colors from head to toe. When she stepped out of the fitting room, Vision's resulting silence, hand under his chin, and concerned expression made her bite down hard on her bottom lip.

"Well, what do you think?" she pressed.

Finally he said, "That is not a confident look."

Wanda doubled over with laughter. She clutched at her sides and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Her burst of laughter made nearby customers look over with curiosity, which shifted into horror when they saw what she was wearing. Finally she caught her breath and wiped at her eyes. "Oh, Vision...even then, you were so nice about it."

If Pietro was here, he would wrinkle his nose at her and say "yuck." Then he'd point a finger at his open mouth to pretend that he wanted to barf.

When Wanda got changed and made her purchases over the counter, she said to Vision, "It's no wonder that you could pick up Thor's hammer. You don't have a mean bone in your body."

He shot her a quizzical look. "Technically I don't have bones. I am made of-"

"It's a compliment, Vision. Just take it."

"Oh, all right." He smiled down at her. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

When they walked out of the store together, both with large shopping bags in tow, Vision offered to handle her bags. Then he said, "I think you need to know that your laugh is the most wonderful sound I've heard yet."

Now that made her chuckle in surprise. "Really? I'm sure there are lots of other things that sound more pleasant."

"Hmm, I don't think so." He rested his hand on hers for a moment. "I know it's not easy for now, and it likely won't be easy for a while...but I hope you can smile and laugh more, Wanda."

Buoyed by his remarks, she said, "I'll try."

* * *

**When I met Elizabeth Olsen last year, after taking a silly photo with her and while getting Scarlet Witch art from my sketchbook signed, I told her that she had the best laugh (well, second only to Tom Hiddleston's ehehe) and whenever I had a bad day, I just needed to watch her laugh her head off on interviews. She said "I'm glad I can make your day," and she made that bubbly laugh of hers. She's great.**


	4. First Rule

**First Time For Everything (4)**

**First Rule**

It didn't escape Wanda's notice that while she and Vision went shopping for clothes, he didn't use the door to the changing room like most people. Like _anyone_ on Earth, really. She didn't know anyone else who could do what he could. Wanda should have remembered that as she changed clothes after a steaming hot shower, even if she had locked her bedroom door. She changed in her bedroom because she felt that she had to escape the humidity of the bathroom. Wanda was pulling a shirt over her head when Vision's voice seemed to jump on her from behind.

"Wanda?"

She jumped, whirled around, and yelped out a cuss word in Sokovian. "Vision, I-I'm a little busy right now," she sputtered.

Vision's gaze dropped to the floor and he took a step back, but not so far back that he retreated into the wall he seemed to spring from. "I will wait outside, then."

"Yes, please."

"My apologies."

Vision disappeared through her bedroom wall. Wanda had grabbed her old shirt to cover up her bra and exposed midriff, and when Vision left, she lowered the shirt with something between a groan and a sigh. It could have been worse. He could have caught her changing into her new underwear. Her face and ears were still hot when she finished changing. Wanda left her bedroom to meet Vision in the common area, where he was fiddling with a piece from the chess set on the coffee table.

"Vision, we need to talk." Wanda couldn't help feeling like a mom sitting her child down for a lesson that had to be learned. That child in question happened to be a days-old, Mjolnir-worthy android.

He put down the chess piece and straightened in his seat attentively when she sat across from him. "I'm very sorry for barging in on you like that, Wanda. I certainly had no intentions to spy on you and startle you."

She smiled in hopes to relieve the worry and regret stamped all over his face. "I know, Vis. You just forgot, that's all. I'm not mad at you." She shortened his name to a nickname, to show that she really wasn't mad and that she still held a certain degree of affection and camaraderie for him. "It's just that walking through doors and walls is…um, how should I put this…a bad habit."

Vision looked puzzled. "I find it to be convenient. It takes more time and effort for me to walk around walls, or to turn the knob of a door, when I can simply phase through it. Going through all the human motions to overcome barriers is cumbersome and unnecessary for a being like myself." He lowered his gaze to the chess set. "I know that doesn't excuse what I had just done a few minutes ago, though. I should be more considerate. Again, I apologize. I will try not to make that same mistake again."

"It's okay, Vis. It may be convenient for you, but the rest of us need those 'barriers' for a reason." Wanda felt her face grow warm. "I wouldn't want you to walk into me using the bathroom, or the shower, for example."

For better or for worse, Vision was exempt from maintaining human hygiene. Because of that, he might be prone to forgetting that others needed the private space to take care of that hygiene. Wanda figured that it was better to lay down the rules now than later. That would save her and her new teammates from a world of embarrassment.

Wanda decided to establish a rule he could remember and follow. "How about this: if the door's closed and locked, don't go through."

Vision nodded. "I can do that."

Assured by his determination to do better, Wanda thought back to the reason he had phased into her room in the first place. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what you wanted to do next."

Wanda felt that she had enough excitement from going out and just wanted to relax in the compound. "Can you teach me how to play chess?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Wanda had neglected to mention what Vision should do if the door was open. Even for an android, old habits died hard.

* * *

**Cut to Captain America: Civil War, where Vision scares the bejeezus out of Wanda by dropping in on her and Steve, and saying "The door was open, so I assumed..."**


	5. First Sick Day

**First Time For Everything (5)**

**First Sick Day**

Wanda sneezed for what felt like the hundredth time. One day she woke up feeling so hot and shivering so much that she couldn't bring herself to climb out of bed for a training session with the New Avengers.

Steve came in to visit her after she had called asking for a day off. He rested a palm on her forehead, and said, "Good Lord, Wanda, you're burning. You should definitely stay in and rest."

"Thanks," she croaked. "And sorry I can't make it."

He shook his head with a soft, understanding smile. "No need to say sorry. We can make up for training later. I hope you feel better soon."

Later that afternoon, around the time that the training session would end, Vision was next to visit, though not without politely rapping on her door first. "Wanda, are you awake?"

"Yeah. I can't sleep at all." Wanda sat up in her bed and winced. "I got a killer headache."

Like Steve, Vision knelt at her bedside and put his hand to her forehead, though being an android, he was actually equipped to measure her body temperature, right down to the two numbers after the decimal point. "103.02 degrees Fahrenheit, 39.45 degrees Celsius." His brow furrowed. "You have a high grade fever, Wanda."

"Great." She shut her eyes in a futile attempt to banish the headache from her pounding skull.

"That kind of fever certainly doesn't feel great, but it's no cause for real concern. An even higher fever of at least 104 Fahrenheit can lead to brain damage, but fever is a natural response to your body fighting off infection."

His informative remark made Wanda laugh weakly. "I was being sarcastic, Vis."

He blinked several times at her. "Oh. I didn't detect it, obviously."

"You'll get better with practice." Then Wanda sneezed and reached for the box of tissue on her nightstand. She never kept it far from her. "No cause for real concern, huh? So I don't have to go to a clinic?"

"I don't think so. You can manage the symptoms at home."

Wanda chucked the used tissue into the pile growing in her wastebasket, and sank her head back into the pillows with relief. "Great. I mean that this time. I really don't feel like getting out of bed."

"You shouldn't." He rested a hand on her shoulder now. "You need rest, plenty of fluids, and perhaps some over-the-counter medication to manage your pain and fever."

"Perhaps? I _definitely_ would like some right now."

"Don't worry, Wanda, I'll get them for you." Vision returned to her bedroom with bottles of pain relievers and fever reducers he had gathered from one of the kitchen cupboards.

Wanda accepted the medications, and the water to swallow it all down, with gratitude. "Thanks so much, Vis. I don't need to see a doctor when you're around." The medicine dulled her headache and made her drowsy, which helped her get the sleep she sorely needed. She woke up hours later still feeling uncomfortable and icky, but nowhere as bad as she had been feeling that morning. She woke up with an appetite, which was assuring.

For dinner, Vision served her tea, chicken soup, and an array of sliced fruits on a bedside tray, which surprised and flattered her.

"You made all this just for me? You didn't have to do that."

"They're simple to make," he replied modestly. "This should give you the fluid and nutrients you need when you're having a fever." He quickly added a disclaimer: "Keep in mind that I've never eaten anything before, and this is my first time cooking, so let me know if the taste leaves a lot to be desired. I can go back to fix a better meal."

Wanda tried hard not to laugh as she sipped at the soup. "Honestly, Vis, my nose is so stuffed up that I can hardly taste _anything_."

Nevertheless, after eating, she felt much better, but not enough to jump back into training the next day. She suspected that she needed a few more days to ride out the fever, chills, congestion, and headache. Since she had been a girl growing up in Sokovia, she had gotten sick enough times to know that she would develop an annoying cough and dry nose at the tail-end of her illness. Her cough would nag at her to the point of dry heaving. She didn't look forward to that at all.

At least she had comrades to support her through it, and she could recover in a comfortable environment. Wanda counted her blessings every time Vision did something for her, or the other Avengers dropped by to check up on her.

"I'm jealous of you," Wanda admitted to Vision later that night. "I'm covered in snot and sweat, but you're totally clean and dry because you don't get sick."

"It's true that I can't get sick, and from how you've been looking today, I'm grateful that I can be spared of that unpleasant experience." Vision gently placed a damp, cool cloth over her hot forehead. "I admire what the human body is capable of. There's a war going on inside you as we speak, Wanda. Your immune system is fighting hard to defend you from the pathogen invaders. Your body heating up, the sweating, the mucus you blow out from your nose or cough through your mouth…they're all tactics and coping mechanisms to get rid of the invaders. Soon the war will be over and your body will win."

Wanda chuckled. "You make it sound epic and poetic."

"I can't help seeing it that way."

"You don't find it gross at all?"

"On the contrary, I find it fascinating."

Wanda pulled the blankets further up her neck. It had been a few days since her shopping trip with Vision, but she suspected that she must have caught a bug from someone that day. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to throw herself in the middle of a new city in a new country, in the middle of all those people, so soon.

Before she settled further into bed to sleep, she murmured to Vision, "You're my favorite defender."

He wished Wanda a good night and came out of her bedroom feeling a strange, fluttering warmth in his chest. What he'd been doing for her all day, providing medications and dinner, were nowhere near as impressive as the feats he performed at the battle of Sokovia, but he would gladly do everything he can to make her feel better again.


	6. First Birthday Without Pietro

**First Time For Everything (6)**

**First Birthday Without Pietro**

After suffering for a week under the weather, Wanda woke up feeling relieved and refreshed when sunlight streaming through her window, rather than a bout of dry coughs, pulled her from sleep. She climbed out of the bed to make it without the usual grogginess, ready to start her day. But a casual glance at the calendar hanging over her desk made her realize that today wasn't just any other day. Today was her birthday. And Pietro's.

But this was her first birthday without him. Pietro had always been ten minutes older. Not anymore. She caught up to him ten minutes after he died in Sokovia, and after that, she left him behind forever.

The fact hit her like a splash of ice-cold water to her face. Now she wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep through the whole day. Steve was the first to wish her a happy birthday.

"Since you're not sick anymore, you're supposed to come in for training, but it's your birthday, so I'll give you another day off," he said with a wink.

Wanda forced a smile, but that didn't seem to convince the captain.

"What's wrong, Wanda? Still feeling sick?"

"It's not that. I feel fine now. It's just…" Her shoulders slumped. "It's my brother's birthday, too."

Steve fell quiet. "Oh, right. It's hard to have a happy birthday knowing that. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. I'll try to enjoy my day off. That's your birthday present to me, isn't it?"

"I guess it is."

The Avengers gathered for breakfast at the compound, and while Wanda received warm birthday wishes from everyone, it took great effort to finish her plate when she lacked the appetite she should have gotten back after the fever.

Vision, the only one at the table without something to eat, noticed Wanda's subdued, downcast behavior and though she looked much better since she recovered, he knew that her brother's death was still a fresh wound within her. Vision decided that the situation called for a nonverbal gesture of sympathy. Sitting to her left, he rested his hand over her wrist for a moment. She looked up from her largely untouched plate and he was rewarded with a small smile.

After chatting with Tony, Clint directed his attention to her. "Wanda, since you don't have training today, do you want to come over to my family's farm in Iowa? We got a surprise waiting for you there, but don't feel pressured to come if you don't want to."

"Well, now you got me curious. I'd like to go."

"Vision, you can come, too," Clint offered. "I don't think you've been around any kids. Might as well meet mine. They're the best kids you'll ever meet. No bias or anything."

"I am also curious," the android replied. "Thank you for considering me in your invitation."

Clint went on to extend his invitation to the other New Avengers, who hadn't met his family yet, but Sam and Rhodey regretted to say that they had other urgent matters to attend. After breakfast, Clint, Wanda, and Vision boarded a Quinjet and streaked off from New York to Iowa. They touched down within a few hours.

As Wanda and Vision peered from a window, they noticed a girl and a boy running out of the house, at first just dots crawling on the golden Midwest plains, but as the Quinjet flew in lower, they could see hair flying and big smiles and laughs that crinkled the children's eyes. Only when Wanda and Vision stepped out of the Quinjet and the engines died down, they could hear what the boy and girl had been hollering.

"Dad, you're home!"

"Hey, kiddos." Clint scooped up his son and daughter into his arms and swung them around with ease. Once he set them down, he asked, "Where's your mom?"

"Still in the house," the boy said.

"She'd be running out here too if she wasn't carrying Nate," the girl said with a giggle.

The boy was the first to notice that his father brought company. "Dad, who's that?"

"New Avenger friends." Clint clapped Wanda and Vision on their shoulders as he introduced them. "This is Wanda Maximoff, and this is Vision. Wanda, Vision, meet my daughter Lila and my son Cooper."

"A pleasure to meet you," Vision said.

The kids gasped. "We heard so much about you."

That surprised Wanda. "Really?" Despite her not being in the best mood, she found their excitement infectious. "You only heard good things, I hope?"

"Nah, just how unbearable and terrible you two are," Clint quipped.

"Sarcasm," Vision said, and he was pleased to have his prediction proven correct when Clint grinned and said, "Yeah, just kidding."

"Your children look very much like you, Clint," Vision remarked. "Minus a feature or two I assume that must be from their mother."

"Yup. Lila and I have Mom's nose." Cooper pinched fingers around his nose to show Wanda and Vision his point. "Not Dad's. His is like this." He pressed a palm over his nose and scrunched his eyes shut as if smashing his hand into his face.

A chuckle slipped out of Wanda's lips, while Clint retaliated by tickling Cooper's ribs and making him roll on the grass. All the while, Vision looked on with amusement. Clint then ushered everyone inside the house, where a woman came out from the kitchen to greet him with a tender kiss.

Clint pulled back from her embrace and introduced the rest of his family. "This is my wife, Laura." Then he gestured to her large, round belly. "And this is Nathaniel."

Laura and Wanda shook hands, and Vision mirrored the motion after Wanda, hoping that he didn't grasp Laura's hand too tightly or too loosely. He was still trying to get acquainted with the art of human gestures, but Laura didn't make a face. Instead she beamed at the visitors.

"It's so nice to have you here," she said. "I'm glad you could come." Then she looked mildly embarrassed. "I would've come running out with Lila and Cooper, but Nate here won't let me get too far from the bathroom."

Vision had never seen a pregnant woman before. Not up close and personal, anyway. Curiosity burst from the floodgates of his synthetic mind. "What's the gestational age of your child?" he asked.

"He means how far along are you?" Wanda said, and Vision took that as a gentle reminder to adjust his language so he could sound more natural, more human.

"Six months, more or less," Laura said. "Three more to go."

Wanda looked between the Barton couple. "Clint never told me that you were expecting. Is that the surprise?"

"There's more to it than that." Clint gestured for Wanda and Laura to sit at the dinner table, while Lila and Cooper tugged at Vision's cape and led him away to show him around the house. Clint opened a manila folder and gave it to Wanda. "These are ultrasound pictures that were taken last week. Just to give you an idea of what he looks like in there."

She looked down at the photos, the outline of Clint's third child, in awe. "This is amazing." She wondered how she and Pietro had looked like inside their mother. Her family had been too poor to afford seeing an obstetrician for checkups, let alone ultrasounds.

"His name's Nathaniel, we know that much," Laura said. "We had planned on going with Natasha."

Wanda raised her eyebrows. "The Natasha we know?"

"The very same one," Clint said. "But she turned out to be a he, so…" He shrugged. "Nat's going to have to live with the disappointment."

Laura sighed. "What we haven't decided on is his middle name. Clint and I have bounced names back and forth for the longest time, but none of them seemed to fit. We think we have the right one now, and we just thought you should know from us in person…" Laura reached out to hold Wanda's hands. "We want our baby's middle name to be Pietro. After your brother. Are you all right with that?"

The water that had been building up behind the dam Wanda tried to keep up all day broke through. Tears sprang to her eyes. Overwhelmed by what Laura had said and asked of her, Wanda pulled her hands back. With one hand she pressed her knuckles over her eyes, and with the other she gently pushed away the folder so her tears wouldn't fall on the ultrasound photos and ruin them. She couldn't chalk up an instant reply, and at that, Clint interjected with worry.

"We can look into other names if you don't want that, Wanda. We just thought…well, we wanted to name our son after a hero."

"I never thought I could be so grateful for someone I've never met, but I am," Laura said with sincerity. "I wish your brother was here so I could thank him over and over for saving my husband's life. If it weren't for Pietro, Lila and Cooper wouldn't have their dad around anymore. Nate would never even get to know his dad."

Clint propped folded arms on the table and leaned in lower to try meeting Wanda's eyes. "We want to honor and remember your brother through our son. We feel that's not really our call, though. Are you okay with that, Wanda?"

Through her tears and shuddering breaths, she managed to say, "I'm more than okay. Pietro would love that. He'd be flattered, really." She had only met Laura and spoke with her for a few minutes, but she had never developed so much affection and understanding for someone in so short of a time. Second to Vision, honestly. Wanda reached out so she and Laura held hands again. "Nathaniel Pietro Barton sounds like a wonderful name."

That pleased Clint and Laura as they exchanged wide grins. Then, from the hallway leading into the kitchen, their son and daughter cried out, "Yay, Nate's got a middle name now!"

Lila and Cooper dashed in to tackle their parents from behind. Vision followed in quietly behind them. "My apologies, we couldn't help but overhear," he said.

His sheepishness made Wanda smile. Lila and Cooper detached their arms from around Clint and Laura's necks to pull Wanda out of her chair.

"Come on, Wanda, your turn to see the house now."

She let them lead her around the Barton home, with Vision trailing her and saying, "Our tour was interrupted by the need to eavesdrop, so don't mind me if I come along."

"I don't mind at all," she said.

Lila and Cooper's enthusiasm and exuberant energy reminded Wanda of how she and Pietro used to romp around, how they used their imaginations to turn their shabby little apartment in Sokovia into a palace, a wide open wilderness, whatever it needed to be for their childhood games. Instead of sending a spear of pain through her heart, the memories formed a bittersweet ache in her chest.

"Dad said that you can move stuff with your mind." Cooper pointed to toys stacked along the shelves of his room. "Can you do your magic, Wanda?"

"Please?" Lila added with a pout.

Wanda pretended to look overly concerned as she crossed her arms. "I don't know if your parents would let me…"

That only seemed to goad them as they grabbed her wrists and continued to plead. They even went down on their knees, still hanging onto her wrists, and that made Wanda laugh.

"As long as the kids aren't being moved around, it's okay," Laura called from downstairs.

Wanda gave in to the children's plea, and with a playful dance of her fingers, she brought Cooper's cars and stuffed animals to life. They sprang from the shelves and hopped around the room. Lila and Cooper cried out in delight, their heads constantly turning this way and that to follow the toys bouncing in circles around them.

Clint's voice carried up from the kitchen. "Hey, come down for cake. We got cake for the birthday girl."

It seemed as if nothing could break Lila and Cooper's awe at Wanda's magical display, but the mention of cake spurred them into a race down the stairs. With a last sweep of her hands, Wanda returned Cooper's toys to where they once sat.

"Well, that was fun," she remarked breathlessly to Vision.

"You certainly kept them entertained." He had never seen Wanda use her powers for anything other than training. He liked that her playtime with Clint's children loosened her up a bit. If he hadn't known any better, he would have taken Wanda to look like their big sister.

The Barton family struck up the birthday song with gusto, and Wanda made a quiet wish before blowing out the candles.

Vision frowned as everyone dug into their slice of cake. "I don't recall you having lunch since we arrived."

"In this house, we have cake first, lunch later," Lila declared.

"This is delicious," Wanda remarked.

Clint swelled up with pride at that. "Laura's an excellent baker. You have no idea how it feels to come home beaten and bruised from a mission to find heaven cooked in the oven."

Vision didn't eat any cake, because he couldn't, but he helped Laura wash plates at the sink. In addition to encountering children and a pregnant woman, Vision had never witnessed birthday traditions before. It baffled him that people liked to celebrate the day they were pushed out of their mother's birth canal. When, and why, did people start attaching that day to a song, cake, and presents? What did zodiac signs and gemstones have to do with when one had to leave the womb? What about the day when people were actually created? Couldn't that day get special attention as well?

On a scenic walk around the farm, he posed all of these questions to Wanda, who had to hold her sides because they were so sore from laughing.

"Oh, Vis, you have a way of looking at the world that's so endearing. I love that about you." She quickly added, "About your questions: I'm sorry, I don't have a good answer for any of them." She threw up her hands and shook her head. "I don't know, Vis. Humans are weird."

"Indeed."

His agreement only strengthened her fondness for him, for his fervent desire to understand and blend in with humanity.

Watching people giving Wanda presents throughout the day, mostly presents not in the usual sense of being wrapped in paper and bows, made Vision think that as her friend, he ought to give her a present as well.

* * *

As the day waned, Wanda and Vision had to part ways with the Barton family, and after many hugs and farewells went around, Clint escorted the pair back to the Avengers compound via the Quinjet.

"So, how do you like them?" Clint asked.

"You have a wonderful family," Wanda replied. "I'd love to meet them again."

Vision concurred, and their responses seemed to please Clint. So that was a family. Vision briefly entertained the idea of having one of his own, and who he could share it with, despite being fully aware that it'd be impossible for a synthetic being like himself. Still, an android could speculate.

Throughout the flight, Vision mulled over what would be a suitable gift for Wanda.

"Vision? Are you okay?"

He met her concern with a little wave of his hand. "I'm just thinking." Well, he was always thinking. The stone set in his forehead made it impossible for him to do otherwise. He tried to keep his comment vague, however, because he learned from his visit with the Barton family that presents were all about being surprises. But how could he know what she'd want and enjoy if he didn't ask?

The temptation to ask was strong, but Vision fought it down, and the synthetic synapses in his head fired and pulsed rapidly as he thought long and hard. When he and Wanda returned to the compound, he wandered the premises searching for inspiration.

Finally, at the mailboxes, he found it. Wanda had received many envelopes since she moved to the United States and formally joined the Avengers, but didn't open them. He could see why—they were written in Korean. All from Seoul. She wouldn't know what they were saying, but he could help her by reading them. He perused through the letters, and he found one that would definitely lift her spirits.

Vision approached Wanda in the common area with an armful of the letters. She noticed what he was carrying and she pursed her lips in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I meant to get rid of those. You shouldn't have to take care of my junk. Here, let me—"

"It's all right, Wanda. These shouldn't be thrown away. In fact, you ought to read them."

Vision handed her the letter he thought would cheer her up the most. Wanda opened it and frowned. She could read Sokovian, Serbian, and Russian Cyrillic, but not Hangul.

"Not to worry, I can read that for you," he offered. "My database allows me proficiency in the most commonly spoken languages."

"How many would that be?"

"Thirty, more or less."

Wanda could not help smiling. "You beat Natasha. She knows seven."

Vision took the letter, settled down next to Wanda, and read to her in English as he scanned the Hangul script.

"Dear Wanda Maximoff,

You don't know me at all. I'm just an ordinary citizen in South Korea, but one day I became one of many that your brother Pietro had saved from the runaway train in Seoul. Of course, before information from the media surfaced, I had no idea that was him. I felt a little push, and before I knew it I realized I had brushed by death. I would have looked like kimchi smeared on the road. I could have been crushed in an instant. But in that instant, your brother ran in to save me. I wish he could still be here so I could thank him, but I write to you hoping that you may see this on his behalf. He may have come and gone by me in a blink of an eye (or even faster than that), but he saved my life regardless, and I will never forget him. Thanks for you and your brother's efforts to save us. Best of luck to you becoming a new Avenger."

Vision looked up from the letter to see how the words had overwhelmed Wanda. Finally, she asked, "Was that really for me? For my brother?"

"Yes, and all of this, too."

Vision showed her that others from Seoul did not send just letters, but little gifts. Wanda received charms of cute cartoon animals and food with smiley faces and googly eyes, all attached with little thank you notes…way too many charms for her phone to handle at once, but she'd be sure to keep them all in her collection and rotate them around. She even received a signed K-pop album from a popular idol who had happened to be on the runaway train.

Wanda hadn't noticed any of this, not only because she couldn't understand what she was being sent, but most of all because she was afraid of getting hate mail and threats. Vision knew this, and he sought to cure her confusion and worry. He supposed that it worked, since Wanda regarded him with open gratitude, with a spark rekindled in her eyes.

"You're so sweet for showing me all this."

"Consider it my present to you. Happy birthday, Wanda."

"Thank you, Vis. This is one of the best birthdays I've ever had."


End file.
